


What is Missing, now Found

by Mersheeple



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29715705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mersheeple/pseuds/Mersheeple
Summary: Hermione missed the taciturn Master of Potions and hoped that, perhaps, one day, he might miss her too.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 15
Kudos: 92





	What is Missing, now Found

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hurricanelola](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurricanelola/gifts).



> Happy Birthday and big hugs and love to Lola! <3
> 
> This is sort of a mash of two or three ideas I had...LOL...I hope it isn't too much of a mess!

She missed him. From the moment he left her at the end of term she had started missing him. It was subtle, creeping into her consciousness and making her habits change. Now in her second year of her Apprenticeship with him, Hermione was used to waking up early, often before six am, and heading straight for the shower. She would use the specialized shampoo and conditioner she had created, taming her hair for a solid eighteen hour day. She would dress quickly and be downstairs in the Great Hall, her hair now dried with a spell and scraped back from her face, before 6:30 in the morning. Her plate would be at the Head Table ready for her, two slices of hot brown toast smothered in butter waiting under stasis, a mug of coffee, dash of milk, one sugar, still steaming hot with spirals reaching towards the ceiling, appearing the moment she sat down.

She was always the first to the Great Hall and, by 6:45, her breakfast was finished and she was draining the dregs from her coffee cup. She would sigh softly, thanking the House Elves under her breath and then she would be off again, heading down to the dungeons as she cast her first Charm of the day, a swift Silencio on her shoes to stop the potential noise of her heels. She always arrived in the Potions classroom precisely at 7am, when most of the students were still just waking up and getting ready for their day. Even the Professors themselves were usually waiting on their first coffees or teas in their chambers before heading to the Great Hall for a more substantial breakfast. While they, including her Master, ate their breakfast, she would be setting up the classroom for the first lesson of the day, casting several charms one after the other; repelling charms, cleaning charms, protection charms, multiple charms against thievery…that last, of course, was Severus reminding her of her own indiscretions as a child.

He would walk into the classroom at 8:30, flash a swift smile at her, cast his own spell that protected everything and everyone who entered the classroom. Having seen it the first time she had remembered the incident with Trevor, Neville’s toad, and she had asked him about it. He had raised an eyebrow and told her that he had never yet killed a familiar and didn’t intend to start with a toad. She had smiled softly and let him cast the spell every time. And then class would begin at 9am and his commanding presence was there, all the time.

Through lessons and lunches and discussions and dinners and then testing and marking and teaching and more conversations, usually ending at close to midnight, she was with him.

Until summer came.

In summer he left. He had done so after her first year as his Apprentice and she had enjoyed the freedom to research and test and just…be. She had travelled to The Burrow, and Grimmauld Place, and had seen both of the boys she had called her best friends naked with their paramours. She had laughed both times and told them that next time she would call ahead. She had visited Hogsmeade and bought herself treats from Honeydukes and Scrivenshaft’s. She had visited Diagon Alley and bought herself an owl so that she could send him messages. She had admitted, in the fourth week of her summer holiday, that she missed him, quite desperately, and couldn’t wait until he came home. She did not send him the letter.  
This was her second summer without him. The stack of letters she had written and not sent were hidden in her desk. Each one was more and more pathetic, she had noticed. The first had been written just three days after he had left and had been fairly upbeat. Now, two days before he was expected back, her letters were sad and depressing and lonely. It had made her realise that it was more than just his friendship she missed. She missed everything; the way he talked, the way he gave her those half smiles, the way he sucked on his bottom lip when he was thinking, the way his magic felt on her skin…oh, she missed that the most. The feel of his magic against her skin often made her tingle for longer than just the few seconds it took him to cast the spell.

Oh. Oh dear.

She realised that she liked him. More than liked. She was in danger of falling in love with him, if she hadn’t already. She sighed, glaring at herself in the mirror. What was it with her and picking the wrong person? First, it had been Viktor Krum, a sweet man who had been missing his betrothed in Bulgaria and had wanted a girl who would not expect anything from him. Secondly, it had been Ron, with whom she had shared one kiss, one awkwardly weird date and one quick fumble, in which he had calmly stated that he was definitely not interested in her that way and she was a sister to him. And now it was Severus Snape, her Master, and generally grumpy dungeon bat…he would never let her live it down.

But…she missed him. She missed him like it was an ache in her chest. Like it was the most painful thing in the world. Like she would never be complete without him. Like…like he was the other half of her. Oh and there it was. She had definitely fallen in love with him. She glanced at the clock, calculating when he was expected home. Two, maybe three hours. It gave her enough time to dress nicely and wait for him in the classroom near his rooms. She wouldn’t dress up. She would just…dress tidy.

She felt her own magic wash over her as she stepped into his classroom, his wards long having been replaced by her own. It felt like a sting now, something tight and uncomfortable when she thought about him and she sat in her usual seat. Her chair by his desk, somewhere he could teach her extra little tips and tricks while keeping an eye on the rest of the students. She sat, reading the plans and the formulae and the charts she had prepared for her final year project.

She missed him. She wanted to discuss the latest Codices and Arithmancy charts with someone who would not only understand them but potentially improve on them, especially the Codices. The Codices were a collection of notes on each ingredient. Though, technically, it was not a true Codex, enough of the information was copied from ancient scrolls and texts that she had taken to calling it that anyway. It had also made him smile the first time and _that_ obviously had nothing to do with it. It was just a coincidence.

She flopped back in her seat and glanced at the flickering sconces. It was getting late. She cast a Tempus and realised that he should have been home by now. She frowned, he was never late, and she wondered for a moment if, perhaps, he had gone to his room a different way. She stood, taking a deep breath and cracking her spine as if she were closer to ninety than nineteen. Well, if he hadn’t come into the classroom, she would go to him. She missed him and needed to see him, just to keep her own mind from coming up with a hundred reasons why he wasn’t there. She shrunk the parchments and placed them back in her satchel, hanging it over her shoulder as she walked to the outer door of Severus Snape’s chambers. She rapped loudly, calling his name through the door. Oh, he was obviously in a bad mood if he wasn’t answering her. She began to talk through the door at him.

“Severus, I know you are in there. It can’t have been that bad…you’ve been away for six weeks, you must have rested at least twice in that time. Severus? Please let me in. I’ve…I think I may have made a small break through with the potion. I don’t know if it will bring their memories back, but it might make it so that they can make new memories. Severus?” She rapped on the door again, frowning.

“Severus? I’ve been thinking about it all summer. I’d really like to come in and talk to you about it. Master Snape?” She called to him again, pressing her hand solidly against the wood of his door. A spark of his magic fizzed through her palm and she yelped, drawing her hand away. He really did not want to talk to her. Something had obviously happened over the summer. Maybe he had picked up on what she was feeling and had got angry about it

“Master Snape? I’ve decided to attempt to use the Arachne’s Web for the potion. What do you think? Master…Severus? Please…let me in. I…I need to see you. I missed you. Oh, please Severus.” She slid down the wall next to the door, his magic hissing and spitting and stinging against her skin. She sighed softly and folded her arms on top of her knees, resting her forehead on her arms. She knew he wouldn’t hear her as she mumbled and muttered to herself about grumpy men and Potions Masters and stubborn idiots. Still, it made her feel better as his magic coursed over her skin, biting into her nerves and leaving an unpleasant tingle on her skin. She sighed into her arms, softly crying as she realised that she _still_ missed him. Even at his grumpiest, even when he refused to talk to her, even when he sulked… She screamed into her arms in frustration and swore, standing up and facing the door.

“Fine, Severus, you’ve obviously realised that I have feelings for you and have decided to ignore me. Well that’s not going to _bloody_ work this time! I am used to your ridiculous obnoxious mood swings and you know what? They don’t _bloody_ scare me anymore! You don’t scare me anymore! I spent my childhood around useless boys! Stop acting like one yourself you complete ARSE! Get out here and let me talk to you properly you _IDIOT_! For Merlin’s sake, it’s not like I’m going to jump your bones just because I’m falling for you!” She huffed, hearing someone laughing behind her and she whipped around, her eyes wide and a flush on her cheeks as she spotted Severus standing in the shadows, laughing softly, a deep rich chuckle that made her taut body shiver slightly. She felt her anger spark through her, chasing her embarrassment at being caught having a tantrum.

“You weren’t supposed to laugh! I’m so embarrassed…oh Merlin…oh hell…” She turned away from him, wrapping her arms around herself and gulping in breaths. She heard him move and held herself still, her head dropped. His arms slid around her gently, slowly, as if unsure of his welcome and she felt him press a soft kiss into her hair.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. It…it was quite lovely actually, Hermione. I just wish I could take you into my chambers and show you how much I appreciate everything you said. But I have something else to do and I was hoping you would be willing to join me.” He held her loosely but she felt like she couldn’t move. He sighed softly and kissed the top of her hair again. It made her move and she turned in his arms, looking up at him and smiling shyly. She knew what she wanted to say but, in that moment, she could think of nothing except…

“I missed you.” She felt her cheeks heat and, wondering if it was to hide her reaction or to avoid his, she stood on tiptoe and brushed her lips against his, once, twice, three times, just softly giving herself to him. He growled slightly under his breath and kissed her back, another soft sound of his growling pulling her away as she smiled at him.

“I missed you too, witch, but…we have somewhere to be. If you are willing to join me?” He raised an eyebrow and she nodded, smiling softly. He offered her the crook of his elbow and she held on gently, walking with him through the corridors in a companionable silence. It wasn’t until he walked through the main doors and out through the courtyard that she even thought to ask where exactly they were going. He smiled down at her.

“You are suffering from a deplorable lack of curiosity Apprentice Granger. We are going to Hogsmeade. To The Three Broomsticks.” He smirked at her and she had to hold herself together to stop herself from swooning. There was something about seeing him from this close when he smirked that made her heart skip a beat.

“And, are we meeting someone there, Master Snape?” He growled as she gave him his title and she realised that she was affecting him too. He nodded, saying nothing as they reached the edge of the village. He seemed to steel himself and they sped up, him half dragging her along until she protested with a wordless cry. He stopped, looking down at her sheepishly. He waited until she caught her breath, and then they began walking at a slightly more sedate pace. He stopped outside of the pub and looked down at her. It looked like he wanted to say something but he shook his head, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and opening the door for her. She stepped in in front of him and looked around, wondering who he was meant to be seeing. A cry passed her lips as a couple in the corner stood up, waving excitedly at her.

“Mom? Dad?” She ran towards them, tears already falling as she reached them, their own tears falling as they wrapped her in their arms. The three of them hugged, mumbling soft, comforting words as Hermione trembled in their arms.

“Don’t think you are leaving Severus Snape!” He stopped in his tracks as Lynne Granger marched up to him, leaving her husband to comfort their still weeping daughter. She took hold of his hand and pulled him to the table, reminding him very swiftly of her daughter. The woman was a force of nature.

“Severus? How? When? _Why?_ ” Hermione spoke softly, curled into Michael Granger’s side. Severus smiled nervously and made himself make eye contact.

“Last summer I found them. This year I…retrieved them. With your potion, with the Arachne’s Web addition. It worked. I knew it would, of course, but I needed to be sure before I told you what I was doing. I didn’t want to…disappoint you. It was the last thing I wanted to do.” He slid into the booth and was surprised when Michael pushed Hermione into his side. She wrapped her arms tentatively around his waist and looked up at him. He looked down, giving her a gentle smile, surprised when she kissed his cheek gently.

“Thank you, Severus. It means so very much.” She smiled and snuggled into his side as Lynne and Michael looked on indulgently.

“Now, Severus, I think I told you that she would make up her own mind and you didn’t need my permission to court her. I suggest you pay attention…she is giving you permission.” Michael smiled at him and Severus blushed, sliding his arm around the little witch’s waist and kissing her on the head.

He had missed this. He had missed her. Or rather, this is what had been missing.


End file.
